EASTER PARADE 3 -I need a hero

These guys and gals turn out at all hours, in all weathers, to help us. So I thought their appearance in the parade deserved a seperate post. Especially as so many of them are unpaid volunteers. My hubby is in SES : State Emergency Service, he was in the Paddy Platypus mascot costume. 

Police followed by ambulance.

 

History

 

The CFA: Country Fire Authority , who turn out for bushfires, house and business fires, car accidents, in case there is a fire, etc. An absolutely indispensable , beloved and famous part of life in Australia.

 

 

 

 

Forest fire management get out in bushfires with the best of them. It's a dirty, smoky job. They also conduct planned burns to reduce the risk of bushfires.

 

SES -State Emergency Service, I know a bit about because of hubby. They train every week at meetings, and sometimes weekends too. They get out to car crashes, to extricate trapped people, using the jaws of life and other tools. They sandbag properties in danger of flooding, they get up on leaky roofs and put tarpaulins over them in storms, they rescue people in floods, with ropes and boats. They rescue people on cliffs, and lost people in the bush, anywhere where people get stuck. They even assist the other emergency services in the event of a bushfire, provide floodlighting for police forensic investigations , and cut up trees that fall over the roads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some places are impassable for even the four wheel drive vehicles, so different SES units have different smaller vehicles, like off road bikes, quad bikes, even snowmobiles.

 

 

 

 

 

The volunteer coast guard is very important in our district as we are near the coast. According to their website they conduct 

• Radio Monitoring
• Safety Patrols
• Vessel Assistance
• Vessel Tracking
• Search and Rescue at sea. 

 

In the case of an emergency, Red Cross trained volunteers are often there too. They have an arm here that is highly trained in first aid. Their other arm provides meals in the event of a crisis like a bushfire or flood, and raise money for Red Cross. So do the CWA (Country Women's Association) ladies. St Vincent de Paul and other helping organisations help in relocating and furnishing homeless families . Indeed many groups pull together to look after the community in times of need. Apex, Rotary and Lions, plus businesses and other organisations in town, raise money for the SES, CFA, hospital, etc. During the festival, they had stalls, art exhibitions and a monster market, to raise money. The parade is a good way to show off the equipment that the community has payed for, and to honour the heroes.

official Volunteer coastguard website